Liquid clamp cleaver for large diameter fibers

February 10, 20103SAE Technologies, Inc. has developed a Liquid Clamp Cleaver™ specially designed for all standard cladding size and large diameter cladding fiber. The patent-pending Liquid Clamp Cleaver is designed for customers using fibers from 125 to 650μm that require very flat cleaves for improved splice loss and beam quality.
Currently, the primary cause of bad cleave angles is torsion strain in the fiber, induced by torque from conventional clamps. 3SAE Technologies’ new patent-pending process features a completely torque-free clamping system. The 3SAE Technologies system uses a proprietary metal alloy ingot that melts at less than the boiling point of water. This is a lead-free, cadmium-free alloy ingot specially formulated to solidify tightly around the optical fiber when cooled, providing torque-free clamping even of non-round fibers such as octagonal shape. A solid-state temperature control system rapidly melts and chills the alloy as needed. When the alloy ingot is depleted by use, it can be easily replaced. These unique alloy ingots are available exclusively from 3SAE Technologies. In addition to the best cleave quality obtainable, the unit has an on-board LCD screen that provides continuous status updates and instructs the operator in the proper loading and cleaving sequence. The menu system enables the operator to easily create, modify and use up to up to 10 cleaving programs, allowing efficient transitions between different fiber diameters.